knowledge or skill, a
history of our English authors, Steevens allowed the good man to insert
a choice letter by George Peele, giving an account of a "merry meeting
at the Globe," wherein Shakspeare said Ben Jonson and Ned Alleyne are
admirably made to perform their respective parts. As the nature of the
"Biographia Literaria" required authorities, Steevens ingeniously added,
"Whence I copied this letter I do not recollect." However, he well knew
it came from the "Theatrical Mirror," where he had first deposited the
precious original, to which he had unguardedly ventured to affix the
date of 1600; unluckily, Peele was discovered to have died two years
before he wrote his own letter! The _date_ is adroitly dropped in
Berkenhout! Steevens did not wish to refer to his original, which I have
often seen quoted as authority. One of these numerous forgeries of our
Puck appears in an article in Isaac Reed's catalogue, art. 8708. "The
Boke of the Soldan, conteyninge strange matters touchynge his lyfe and
deathe, and the ways of his course, in two partes, 12mo," with this
marginal note by Reed--"The foregoing was written by George Steevens,
Esq., from whom I received it. It was composed merely to impose on 'a
literary friend,' and had its effect; for he was so far deceived as to
its authenticity, that he gave implicit credit to it, and put down the
person's name in whose possession the original books were supposed to
be."

One of the sort of inventions which I attribute to Steevens has been got
up with a deal of romantic effect, to embellish the poetical life of
Milton; and unquestionably must have sadly perplexed his last
matter-of-fact editor, who is not a man to comprehend a flim-flam!--for
he has sanctioned the whole fiction, by preserving it in his
biographical narrative! The first impulse of Milton to travel in Italy
is ascribed to the circumstance of his having been found asleep at the
foot of a tree in the vicinity of Cambridge, when two foreign ladies,
attracted by the loveliness of the youthful poet, alighted from their
carriage, and having admired him for some time as they imagined
unperceived, the youngest, who was very beautiful, drew a pencil from
her pocket, and having written some lines, put the paper with her
trembling hand into his own! But it seems,--for something was to account
how the sleeping youth could have been aware of these minute
particulars, unless he had been dreaming them,--that the ladies had been